Apparatus for teaching arithmetic objectively



April 1935- w. c. HOLIDAY 7 1,997,177

APPARATUS FOR TEACHING ARI'I'HMETIC OBJEQTIVELY Filed Jan. 9, 1931 uN TEbiSTATE I r 1.997.177 a p FAPPARATUS ron TEACHING ARI'THMETI V, r .QBJECTIYEVLITTFT 1,. I a g c a noliaayjmiiiriis', as; a Application January 9, 193;. Serial msgyme The object of the present-invention'is to pro vide a box for counters of various kindsjusedin teaching arithmetic objectively, whichbox is adapted, not only tostore, the articles'when not ,2 in use,- but also 'to render them easy to pick up and manipulate by the user. 'I'hes ea nd other advantages, and capabilities of'the device will be v ing,-wherein- Figure 1 represents an isometric view of an embodiment of the device showing front, top and come apparent from the description and drawright end with drawer pushed in and containers extended; and Figure 2 shows a similar View with containers pushed in, drawerextended and funnel and sack attached.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts in the views.

The box 1, forming the object of the invention, is a small case having substantially open front 2 and having, as shown, three. or more shallow compartments in the top, numbered 3, 4, 5, etc., respectively, arranged side by side from right to left and extending entirely across the top from the open front to the back. 7

The floor of each compartment 4, 5, etc., slopes slightly downward from the rear to a point near the front side, and then upwardly, so thatthe compartment is deeper at the front side than at the back. The purposes of this shape is to cause any counters, such as match sticks 6, which may be placed in such compartments, to roll forward-, ly, where, owing to the slight elevation of the floor at the front, the user, a child, can easily reach over the edge and seize a counter as the box is standing on a desk or table. The upwardly turned front edgewill tend to prevent the counters from rolling out even though they may be stacked in the compartment to a considerable height. scribed later.

Beneath the floor of these three or more compartments, and carried by suitable guideways I2 and I3 fastened respectively adjacent the. front and rear of the box, and parallel to each other and to the floor of the box and at the same height The floor of compartment 3 will be de- (Q 5 )T.. thel t 'p t'o th ,I" lay r miir q back; inlceihe us rd e r haveto raise his hair sfofhighftoreach these com rtments; "andsil e the. compartments frarej not so far acrossg fr 'om frohttobackasithose. first; riientibhedm 1$ rs=an2 a 1xra e 6011mm,

the compartmentsiwill hold" more counters nipartments is mid-9 r than theyf'wouldifprovidedw halowfrohtWall. I

It is, however, within the scope'of myinvention to have compartments 9, H), II etc., of the same general shape as compartments 4, 5 etc., or like 3.

Compartment 3. will now be described. This compartment has the bottom. shaped to form a channel l4, wide at the rear side and narrower at the front and there terminating in an aperture l5, of a size to support a small funnel I6, withupper edge alined with the floor and the small end extending downwardly in front of the guide l2 which supports the front edge of the drawer I. This drawer, as above noted, is narrower than the top of the .box,'allowing thus, the frontv edgeof the drawer to be offset from the front of the box :to give room for the funnel which therefore will not interfere with the opening and closing of the drawer. The sides of the channel form supporting skids for sticks 6.

Carriedby other guides, l1 and I8, which are fastened to guides l2 and I3, are forwardly directed slides l9 and 20, respectively, the guides and slides being placedlow enough to preclude theirinterfering with the movement of the draw er I. The two slides, l9 and 20, respectively are of similar construction except that one is made to face one way and the other in the opposite direction. A description of one will therefore 'suffice. Each slide is composed of a long straight narrow strip 2| or 22 respectively adapted to fit snugly into ways made by turning over edge portions of the members I! and I8, respectively, after the manner of well known extensible curtain rods. At the outer end of each such strip, towards the user, are placed containers 23 and 24 respectively eachin form of longitudinal half of a hollow cylinder, with one end fastened, as by soldering, to its respective strip, with opening directed upwardly. These receptacles are so proportioned.

Numeral 25 indicates a cloth sack fastened preferably with an elastic band over the small downwardly directed end of funnel l5, and 26 indicates beans or the like in the sack.

In the use of the device, counters are placed in the compartment 3 from whence they may into tens, the slides l9 and 20 arepulled out 7 and sticks; BsuppOr-ted at their ends in the two receptacles'fl and 24 wherethey may be bound preferably with elastic bands into bundles and lifted out very conveniently because of the space 1 between the containers 23 and fl The bundles will easily be given a round shape or any shapethe shape of the containers Z3 and V "compartments having a spout leading downwardaccording to 24 While the compartment 3 can be used for-sticks,

such as shown at 6, it is, especially adapted to the use of counters such as beans 25, which-can be moved along the channel 14 and dropped through the funnel 1-5.: lffdesired, thesackffi' may be} placed over the small" end of thegfimneljandwihe counters run intoiit in desired number; forj.ex

ample, ten. 1111c v filled can be withdrawn. mouth oropeningclosed preferably' with theelas-f tic band and another-put on. The filled "sacksl canbe used in ways well knownto 'teachei'sbi f elementary arithmetic.

The various counters may be stored in the box when not in use, 7

Other counters than those described may be used with my device, and various changes may be made in the structure shown, such for example as having more or less compartments, provided the changes do not depart from the spirit and scopeof the appended claims.

ann; i. 7; l

1. In a. device used for teaching mathematics a box for holding counters, said box having on theupper side thereof open compartments arranged side by side with the bottoms of said compartments sloping downwardly slightly from rear 1 toiront, whereby to facilitate laying counters in the compartments or taking them out, one of said ly in frontoi-the drawer I, and adapted to receive the open end of a sack into which counters placed inl'saidcompartment, may be dropped through the. spout; said compartment .having forwardly and downwardly directed skids uporrwhich small counters in the form of sticks may be laid and readily removed; 7

2. In a device ascl-aimedin claim 1, a pair of upwardly turned hooks on the .front of said box wherein countersfin the form of sticks may be laidio'r -cpnve'nience in binding up into bundles. d WILLIAM CHARLES HOLIDAY. v 

